The micro-glitch in PSR B1821-24 : A case for a strange pulsar?

TL;DR

This paper discusses an unusual small glitch in the old recycled pulsar PSR B1821-24, proposing it may be a strange quark star with crustal properties that explain the glitch's magnitude.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that some recycled pulsars could be strange quark stars, providing a crustal explanation for the observed small glitch.

Findings

The glitch magnitude in PSR B1821-24 is significantly smaller than typical pulsar glitches.

The pulsar's low magnetic field and age suggest it could be a strange quark star.

Crustal properties of strange stars can produce small glitches like the one observed.

Abstract

The single glitch observed in PSR B1821-24, a millisecond pulsar in M28, is unusual on two counts. First, the magnitude of this glitch is at least an order of magnitude smaller ($\Delta \nu / \nu \sim 10^{-11}$) than the smallest glitch observed to date. Secondly, all other glitching pulsars have strong magnetic fields with $B \gsim 10^{11} G$ and are young, whereas PSR B1821-24 is an old recycled pulsar with a field strength of $2.25\times10^9 G$. We have suggested earlier that some of the recycled pulsars could actually be strange quark stars. In this work we argue that the crustal properties of such a {\em strange} pulsar are just right to give rise to a glitch of this magnitude, explaining the scarcity of larger glitches in millisecond pulsars.